Leads scientific projects and subject areas end to end, defining scope, requirements, priorities, and high-quality deliverables with minimal oversight. Acts as a scientific authority for internal teams and external expert audiences, collaborates with product, engineering, and commercial functions, mentors scientists, raises quality standards, and may manage direct reports. Requires strong scientific judgment, communication, adaptability, and ownership across biotech and pharmaceutical R&D domains.
Drug Hunter is a B2B scientific intelligence platform for biotech/pharma R&D scientists that empowers them to discover the medicines of the future. We serve most of the top global biotech & pharma companies including Dow 30 and S&P500 companies. We're a mission-driven, product-focused company backed by top-tier investors and trusted by the world's leading R&D organizations.
We are looking for a Principal Scientists to join the Drug Hunter team. Principal Scientist are the science team’s scientific authorities and leaders. They are able to be responsible and accountable for scientific projects and areas from end to end, defining scope, scientific requirements, and creating high-quality deliverables with minimal direction, while raising the capability of scientists around them. Externally, scientists credibly represent Drug Hunter’s scientific strengths to expert audiences without support..
Core Competencies:
Scientific Expertise
- Recognized internal authority in at least one scientific area or discipline, with credible working coverage of adjacent areas
- Able to enter unfamiliar scientific domains and produce expert-level insight within days and critically review works from adjacent fields
- Demonstrates strong scientific judgment and reasoning, independently making decisions on deliverable requirements, publishable scientific claims, and relevance
- Easily catches subtle scientific and technical errors and issues, and scientific judgment is trusted in their areas of authority without routine review
- Assigned work in areas of authority are completed in a timely manner with high quality and scientific accuracy, and ready for external release with minimal oversight, editing, or review
- Confidently delivers external presentations, talks, and fields expert questions from scientists and leaders in real time in areas of authority
Collaboration & Influence
- Operates as a scientific partner to other functions including product development, engineering, and commercial, actively shaping plans and roadmaps in addition to responding to requests
- Translates scientific judgment and insight into business decisions
- Influence extends beyond their own projects: colleagues across functions seek their input and their recommendations impact areas for which they are not primarily responsible
- Maintains an external scientific network and reputation that brings ideas, contributors, and opportunities to Drug Hunter
Leadership & Mentorship
- Actively develops earlier career scientists and contributors on scientific activities and judgment including through structured review, feedback, and example
- Measurably raises the quality bar of work that they touch
- Leads projects staffed with other scientists, setting direction, unblocking activities, and taking accountability for the team’s output in addition to their own
- May manage 1-2 direct reports and be responsible for hiring, development plans, feedback, performance assessment, and reports’ workload and growth
Adaptability & Ownership
- Able to take accountability for and ownership of a project area in addition to individual projects, defining scope and priorities, committing to outcomes, and delivering results without needing direction on “how”
- Able to replan their areas of responsibility themselves when priorities or rationale shift, surfacing trade-offs and proposing new plans rather than waiting
- Moves into new domains, formats, or programs routinely
- Able to take on novel responsibilities as needed to advance team and company objectives
Requirements
- Ph.D.degree in a relevant scientific area
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with fluency in English
- Typically 6+ years of post-Ph.D./postdoctoral experience, ideally in relevant industry settings
Benefits
Drug Hunter provides industry-leading benefits, including the following:
- Competitive salary, variable compensation, and equity
- Broad range of medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees and their dependents, including generous coverage for a platinum PPO healthcare plan
- Short-term disability and long-term disability insurance
- Cancer and critical illness coverage
- Up to 12 weeks paid parental leave (after 1 yr tenure) and childcare FSA plan
- 401(k) + employer match (3-5%)
- Home office set up stipend for fully remote employees
- Learning and development support
- Generous and flexible vacation and leave policies
Drug Hunter Palo Alto, California, USA Office
3790 El Camino Real, #1069, Palo Alto, California, United States, 94306
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